Roll double-pocketed bag structures

ABSTRACT

A double-pocketed bag structure comprising a carrying pocket, a retaining pocket, and a web of material interconnecting the pockets and being unitary with the backwalls thereof. The total height of the web and the retaining pocket being less than the total height of the carrying pocket. The bag structure being further characterized by being joined together with identical bags into a continuous roll; the structures being defined by heat seals along their height dimensions, and a tear line being located between adjacent structures. The continuous roll of bag structures, for ease of dispensing and detachment of individual bags, being folded in the web area so that the carrying pocket overlies and extends beyond the retaining pocket.

I United States Patent 1 3,647,060 Kiely 1 1 Mar. 7, 1972 BQLL OFDOUBLE-POCKETED BAG 3,313,471 4/1967 Dickard et al. ..229/62 STRUCTURES3,358,906 12/ 1967 Faiers 3,469,769 9 1969 G th ..150 3 X [72] Inventor:Robert R. Kiely, Pittsford, N.Y. er I [73] Assignee: Mobil OilCorporation Primary Examiner-Joseph R. Leclair Assistant Examiner-StevenE. Lipman [22] 1969 Attorney-Oswald G. Hayes, Andrew L. Gaboriault andJames [21] App1.No.: 810,280 D. Tierney [52] US. Cl. ..206/58, 206/56AB, 229/53 [57] ABS CT [51] Int. C B6511 83/00 A double-pocketed bagstructure comprising a carrying [58] Field of Search ..150/1, 3, 7;206/57 A, 56 AB, pocket, a retaining pocket, and a web of materialintercon- /5 8; 69 necting the pockets and being unitary with thebackwalls thereof. The total height of the web and the retaining pocketReiem cued being less than the total height of the carrying pocket. Thebag structure being further characterized by being joined together UNHEDSTATES PATENTS with identical bags into a continuous roll; thestructures being 3,485,349 12/ 1969 Chaney, Jr. ..206/56 A definedbyheat seals along their height dimensions, and a tear 2,444,685 7/1948Waters ..229/53 UX line being located between adjacent structures. Thecontinu- 2,620,842 12/1952 Hoeppner et al.. ..229/53 UX ou roll of bagstructures, for ease of dispensing and 2,709.46? 5/1955 q pi UXdetachment of individual bags, being folded in the web area soWilliamson 225/ that the pocket overlies and extends beyond the Linacreet a! e e fetaining pocket 3,173,601 3/1965 Osborn, Jr. .....229/533,256,527 6/1966 Studen ..229/3.5 X 2 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures ROLLDOUBLE-POCKETED BAG STRUCTURES The present invention relates to doublepocketed bag structures and more particularly to bag structures to beformed of limp material, such as very thin gauge polyethylene, to formdisposable sandwich bags. In a form of the invention these bags aredispensed as tear-off units from a continuous roll.

Doublebag structures, as used in the specification, are structures inwhich a carrying bag of suitable size and shape to have articles placedtherein, is connected by means of a connecting web with a second bag,hereinafter termed as the retaining bag. In use the retaining bag isgrasped and the web and retaining bag are folded over the carrying bagwith the carrying bag (and its content) being tucked into the retainingbag, so that a single closed unit is formed, staying closed withoutrequiring additional tying materials. Double-bag structures of this typeare known and have been proposed for carrying coins (see US. Pat. No.3,358,906) in which a relatively long pocket is adapted to hold aplurality of coins in a transparent plastic material of substantialstrength, with a reentrant retaining pocket being provided to preventthe coins from falling out of the long carrying pocket. Another knownform of double-pocketed bag (see US. Pat. No. 3,164,068) utilizesdouble-material walls to form a tobacco pouch.

The present invention is directed to a bag structure which has theadvantage of a double bag, in that it is self-closing, without requiringany additional tie, and adapted to hold sandwiches or the like. Theadvantages of known plastic sandwich bags-high transparency, extremelylow cost, ease of manufacture, packaging, and dispensing-are retained.These known sandwich bags in the past have required the use of aseparate tie strip, usually a plastic or paper-covered thin wire, or aseparate plastic clip,.to provide a good seal so that the contents willretain their freshness, with resistance to outside moisture. The presentinvention thus enables the use of ordinarily limp non-form-retainingmaterial since the contents for which the bags are to be used,particularly sandwiches or the like, are themselves form-stable; bysuitably dimensioning, the bags can be given such a shape that theentire bag structure, when filled, will be stiff enough so that the bag,once properly closed, will not open by itself. This can be achieved eventhough the material itself is not form-stable.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide aninexpensive, easily detachable roll of bag structures which can be madeof transparent material and which is sanitary to use.

SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PRESENT INVENTION Briefly, a carrying pocket isinterconnected by means of a web to a retaining pocket, the web and onewall of the retaining and of the carrying pocket being of unitary singlematerial, such as very thin gauge polyethylene; the carrying pocket hasa width dimension which is at least equal to the height, and preferablymore, and a height dimension which is more than half the height of theentire structure; the retaining pocket has a height which is just underhalf the height of the carrying pocket and the web material has a heightslightly less than the height of the retaining pocket, the total heightof the retaining pocket and the web material being between 42 and 47percent of the total height of the structure.

Particularly suitable dimensions for bags which will remain self-closedand which can be formed of limp material are height: 25% cm.; width: l6cm.; web height: cm.; retaining pocket height: 6% cm., and carryingpocket height: 14% cm.

In accordance with a feature of the invention, the bags are joinedtogether in a continuous roll, with separatingstrips of approximately 1cm. width therebetween, and a perforation line in the separating strips.Preferably, the retaining pocket and a major portion of the web arefolded over against the carrying pocket, so that as the pocketstructures are unrolled, the

edge will be presented to the user in which the separating region isonly of single-strength material (the double-folded over portions of theweb) rather than having both edges of double strength (where the pocketsappear) so that tearing off of a bag structure from the entire roll isfacilitated.

Thejnvention will now be described by way of example with reference tothe accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. I is a plan view of a single bag structure, drawn to scale;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a group of bag structures in acontinuous roll;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a single bag structure, with contentsjust inserted;

FIG. 4 is a similar view of FIG. 3 while in the process of being folded;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIGS. 3 and 4 but reversed front to rearwith the bag structure completely closed;

FIG. 6 is a detailed view of the folded bag structures as they come froma roll dispenser; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of roll-dispensed bag structures.

Referring now to FIG. I: The bag structure 10 has a carrying pocket I],a connecting web 12 and a retaining pocket 13. The rear wall 11' (FIG.3), the web 12 and rear wall 13' are formed by a unitary piece ofmaterial of polyethylene, which is thin and transparent, for example of0.0l 5-0.025 mm. thickness. Preferably the entire web of material fromwhich the bag is made also includes a width of the front walls 11'', I3"of the carrying and retaining pockets, and during manufacture the web isfolded to assume the shape of the pocket structure 10 and heat sealedalong seam lines 14 at the edges. When the bags are made in a continuousstrip form to be then wound in rolls,-a transverse seal 15 is formedbetween adjacent pockets, through which a severing or tear line 16, inthe form of perforations, or a weakened section is made, as well knowninthe art.

Polyethylene of 0.025 mm. or less thickness is limp and flexible andwill not retain a given shape, like a paper bag, when handled. It mustbe closed since, otherwise, it will revert to a position in'which thematerial itself is at least stress. Therefore, in order to closepolyethylene bags, ties, made of metal, string, plastic or paper coveredwire have been used. The bag of the present invention overcomes the needfor an additional tie and is particularly suitable for use withform-stable contents which give the bag the required stability to stayclosed. As a sandwich bag, it will be designed to hold contents ofsquare, or rectangular configuration with average minimum and maximumdimensions of about 8% to l l 1% cm. For ease of description, thelongest dimension of the bag structure will be termed height, and theshorter dimension of the bag structure the width. As indicated in FIG.I, the height dimension h of the carrying bag is somewhat less than thewidth dimension wf, thereof, although the width could be made slightlysmaller to even approach height dimension; if, however, the contents areto be relatively thick, it has been found that they will fit better,with less waste of material, and better seal if the width dimension ismade larger than the height dimension. The

height of the retaining pocket h is just under half the height of thecarrying pocket h and the height of the web h is again slightly lessthan the height of the retaining pocket h The overall height of both theretaining pocket and the web (h, +h,,) should be about 42 to 47 percentof the overall height of the bag It, so that the height of the carryingpocket willbe somewhat more than half, that is 53 to 58 percent of theoverall height.- Suitable dimensions have been found to be:

the severing line 16 located therein; a width of 1 cm. providessufficient width to still enable economical manufacture withoutrequiring extreme accuracy in locating a tear line at a precise locationwith respect to the heat seal during highspeed manufacture, since aslight offcenter position of the tear line will not interfere with edgesealing at the heat lines 14 of the bag structures.

FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 show the closing of bags in sequential steps, withFIG. 4 illustrating the closing operation, FIG. 5 a completelyself'closed bag with the contents therein.

As best seen in FIG. 5 when the bag is completely closed, the contentswill be sealed therein since a small portion of the carrying bag will befolded over unto itself, and stretched around the entire package. Sincethe material used, thin polyethylene or similar plastic film, is highlyself-adhering, slight pressure by the user can completely seal thecontents, particularly if the completed bag is slightly flattened, so asto squeeze out air bubbles from the inside. For short-term use, that isfor only a few days, this is ordinarily not necessary, the structureproviding sufficient protection against outside contamination, andpenetration of moisture, by merely folding over the web and retainingpocket and packing in the carrying pocket, together with its contents,into the retaining pocket. Ordinary polyethylene of 0.025 mm. and lessthickness is highly transparent; the contents will be visible and can beimmediately inspected for freshness.

The bags are preferably packaged by being dispensed from a roll, asuitable container for dispensing being disclosed, for example, in U.S.Pat. Nos. 3,098,594 and 3,173,601. In accordance with a feature of theinvention, the bags are not rolled up from a strip as seen in FIG. 2,but are folded against themselves before rolling; referring to FIG. 6 itis seen that the retaining bag 13, together with a major portion of theweb 12 is folded over against a small remaining piece of web 12 and thecarrying pocket 11. The tear line 16 at the region of web 12 will beonly single strength material, whereas in the region of the pockets 11and 13, it will have a double-strength material, that is will cover bothback and front walls 11', 11" of the carrying pocket as well as frontand back walls 13', 13" of the retaining pocket. As the bags in acontinuous roll are dispensed, folded as shown in FIG. 6, one edge, thatis the left side edge in FIG. 6, will present only a single-strengthmaterial at the tear line, whereas at the right side two separatestructures, of double-strength each, are presented.

Polyethylene, and similar transparent plastic packaging material ishighly self-adhering; if a slight misalignment occurs during rolling-upof the roll from which the bags are to be dispensed, there may beresistance to tearing at the right-hand side, or wherever adouble-strength severance line occurs; no such resistance will occur atthe left-hand edge of the roll (with respect to FIG. 6) so that rollingin this manner facilitates dispensing to the user. The rolled-upmaterial itself is dispensed from a box B.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the ends of the bags 11, 13, will not overlieeach other but rather will be staggered since, by definition, the heightof the web and the height of the retaining pocket are less than half theheight of the entire bag structure, and part only of the height of theweb is folded over. This stagger of the bags, when rolled in accordancewith FIG. 6, further facilitates separation of the bags, both fortearing, and after having been torn off the roll.

The material from which the double-pocketed bag structures can be madecan be plain and completely transparent or can be embossed, to have aslight crinkle effect. Embossing the material facilitates separationand, in some materials increases their strength; additionally, thefriction between the folded-over retaining pocket and the material ofthe carrying pocket may be increased to improve the holding capabilityof the bag when closed. For some uses, indicia of contents oradvertising material, may be printed on the bags, at any location; ifprinted, just inwardly of web 12 on the front wall 11 of the carryingpocket, or on the rear wall 11 and adjacent the edge,

the printed material will be protected by a single layer of bagstructure material when the bag is closed for use.

The bag blanks may be made by holding a flat web; alternately, a tubemay be extruded, from which a strip is removed, the tubular materialbeing flattened and provided with the transverse seals 15 to thus obtaina continuous strip of double-pocket bags. The present invention thusprovides a bag structure, the dimensions of which may be tailored, forexample, for bread which, when in slice form, has an approximatedimension of 8 to 12 cm., rectangular, square, or oblong. In thisconnection human dimensions determine the size of the normal sandwichbread, namely the size which is convenient.

The bit structure of the present invention can be made of a materiawhich 18 not form sustaining, that IS, which IS limp, to

hold form-stable contents, such as a sandwich, maintain it in sanitary,substantially moistureproof condition by providing a fold over region;the structure is self-closing, by providing a carrying pocket which iswider than deep to leave extra space for thickness of the content andfor stretching.

I claim:

1. In a double-pocket bag structure comprising a carrying pocket havinga front wall and a backwall,

a retaining pocket having a front wall and a backwall,

and a web of material interconnecting said pockets and unitary with thebackwall of said pockets,

the improvement wherein said structure being made of form-unstablematerial, the

carrying pocket having a width dimension which is at least equal to theheight dimension, and a height dimension which is more than half of theheight of the entire bag structure;

the retaining pocket having a height less than half the height of saidcarrying pocket,

and said web of material having a height less than the height of saidretaining pocket, the total height of said retaining pocket and said webof material being between 42 and 47 percent of the total height of saidstructure;

said bag structure being further characterized as being joined togetherwith a plurality of identical bag structures into a continuous roll,said structures being defined by heat seals interconnecting the frontwalls and backwalls of said pockets along their height dimensions;

and a severing strip being located between adjacent structures, saidsevering strip being formed by a tear line;

said continuous roll of double pocketed bag structures being furthercharacterized by having said retaining pocket and part of said webfolded over to overlie said carrying pocket, the fold line being in theregion of said web and adjacent said carrying pocket, the bag structureat the fold line presenting a thickness defined by overlapped portionsof said web of material thereby facilitating tearing from one lateraledge of the folded bag structures towards the other.

2. The continuous roll of double-pocketed bag structures according toclaim 1, the structures being formed of tubular material having a stripremoved in the region overlying said web, and the tubular material beingflattened and the pockets being defined by transverse heat seals alongtheir height dimensions.

1. In a double-pocket bag structure comprising a carrying pocket havinga front wall and a backwall, a retaining pocket having a front wall anda backwall, and a web of material interconnecting said pockets andunitary with the backwall of said pockets, the improvement wherein saidstructure being made of form-unstable material, the carrying pockethaving a width dimension which is at least equal to the heightdimension, and a height dimension which is more than half of the heightof the entire bag structure; the retaining pocket haviNg a height lessthan half the height of said carrying pocket, and said web of materialhaving a height less than the height of said retaining pocket, the totalheight of said retaining pocket and said web of material being between42 and 47 percent of the total height of said structure; said bagstructure being further characterized as being joined together with aplurality of identical bag structures into a continuous roll, saidstructures being defined by heat seals interconnecting the front wallsand backwalls of said pockets along their height dimensions; and asevering strip being located between adjacent structures, said severingstrip being formed by a tear line; said continuous roll of doublepocketed bag structures being further characterized by having saidretaining pocket and part of said web folded over to overlie saidcarrying pocket, the fold line being in the region of said web andadjacent said carrying pocket, the bag structure at the fold linepresenting a thickness defined by overlapped portions of said web ofmaterial thereby facilitating tearing from one lateral edge of thefolded bag structures towards the other.
 2. The continuous roll ofdouble-pocketed bag structures according to claim 1, the structuresbeing formed of tubular material having a strip removed in the regionoverlying said web, and the tubular material being flattened and thepockets being defined by transverse heat seals along their heightdimensions.